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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23222374">Sandwalker</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathBee/pseuds/DeathBee'>DeathBee</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate History, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Desert, Dystopia, Gen, How Do I Tag, Light Angst, Lots of that, Magic, Mild Language, Near Future, Not Good, Probably Not Scientifically Accurate, Sort Of, but not mentioned yet cuz this is too short, only like once tho, slavery is mentioned, someone gets buried alive, world war III happened in this universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 11:22:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,774</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23222374</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathBee/pseuds/DeathBee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A group of desperate Crawler slaves make a break for freedom with the help and planning of the mysterious Stranger, but not all goes as planned.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sandwalker</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So, I know I was supposed to post the second chapter of my TDP fic like a month ago, but a lot of stuff happened at once. I had a lot of school projects, which this fic is one of, and I got a little sidetracked by a passion project that's been lurking in the back of my mind for a while, which I may also post. I don't think this is very good, but I hope you enjoy it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Night Winds ripped through the empty city streets, threatening to throw Enlil to the cold pavement. Behind him, Era stumbled. She was so much smaller than the others, she must be getting tired. He scooped his young sister into his arms and continued to run. The sands were so close. He could see the pale dunes just beyond the gate, promising freedom at last.</p><p>“Stop them!” A call echoed down the street. The guards were catching up. </p><p>A gunshot exploded behind them, and Esen fell, clutching her leg. Blood was already seeping between her fingers. </p><p>Enlil hesitated at her side, but she only hissed at him, in too much pain to urge him onwards with words.</p><p>A hand yanked his arm. “We can’t stop now, boy. Come!” It was the Stranger. The slave that had appeared at their camp weeks ago and promised escape. He dragged Enlil a for a few feet until he began to run on his own again. </p><p>The gate was so close now, but his sister was growing heavy in his arms. She was cowering from the gunshots echoing around them, face hidden in the loose folds of his tunic. He couldn’t carry them both for much longer.</p><p>“Era.” She looked up at him, eyes wide with fear. “Can you run?”</p><p>She nodded. Enlil set her down on the concrete, but kept a firm grip on her wrist. He could hear the heavy thumping of boots just behind them. </p><p>Just a little further, the gate was barely ten yards away. Just as the Stranger had predicted, most of the guards were gone. One was frantically dressing in the guardhouse. </p><p>Enlil sprinted the last few feet to the exit, Era in tow. When his feet hit the sand at last, he could feel the power of his ancestors rush into him, welcome him. He prepared to dive into the sand, to shoot away from his prison like his grandmother had taught him, but Era cried out behind him and her hand was nearly wrenched from his. </p><p>“No!” Enlil spun and wrapped his hands around his sister’s arm. </p><p>Era writhed and screamed, but the guard refused to release her. He reached around and grabbed Enlil’s shoulder with a vise-like grip. The Stranger came up behind Enlil, taking the guard’s arm and twisting until he let go. He pulled the boy behind him and swung at the guard, but the others had reached the gate and a second guard kicked him in the stomach. He hit the sand with a grunt, taking Enlil with him. Before Enlil could protest, the sand engulfed them. In seconds, the city of Silair was far behind them.</p><p> </p><p>Era shivered. A cold draft stirred the dank air. She didn’t know where she was. There were no open sands, no friendly faces as she had dreamed of with her brother. Though she had run out of tears long ago, she still choked on every breath. </p><p>A loud clang echoed down the stone hallway, followed by heavy footfalls and muffled voices. </p><p>“You’re sure she’s not a Crawler?” An old man rounded the corner, wearing the robes of her people. For a moment, she hoped he might help.</p><p>“Yes, she was right in the sand and she didn’t even try to go under.” A uniformed soldier followed. </p><p>Era shuffled back into the corner, as far from the rusted bars as she could get. </p><p>“She may not have Awakened yet.” The pair stopped in front of her cell. “We should test her.”<br/>

</p>
<p>The soldier stuttered for a moment. “But she’s only a child! If she isn’t a Crawler the test will-”</p><p>“If she isn’t a Crawler, she is useless to the city.” The man glared. </p><p>He turned and hit a switch on the wall. A clear pane dropped from a slot in the ceiling with a boom that made her jump to her feet. The man looked her straight in the eye and she shivered. His eyes were empty, devoid of any light.</p><p>“Your key, Captain,” the man said, holding out an impatient hand to the soldier. </p><p>The soldier hesitated for a moment, then unhooked something from his belt. He glanced between it and the man before handing it over. The man pushed it into a slot in the wall and twisted. A stone in the ceiling slowly rose and disappeared, grinding against the others as it went. Dust trickled out of the hole, only a little at first, but when it continued to pour down, Era realized it wasn’t dust at all. It was sand, and it was quickly filling her cell, already up to her ankles. Panic tightened in her chest, choked her. The sand was supposed to be her ally, but she knew she didn’t have what her brother did. Without him, sand would spill into her lungs and suffocate her. </p><p>The soldier glanced at her with pitying eyes and turned away, while the man stood and watched, eyes still empty. </p><p>Another soldier rushed down the hall and saluted the first as the sand rose to her waist. She struggled to stay on top of it, but there was nothing solid to stand on. </p><p>“Captain, we have a… situation.” Era could barely make out what the soldier said over the hiss of the sand. </p><p>“What is it?”</p><p>She could feel the sand bearing down on her as it rose to her shoulders. She tried to kick off the floor, to push herself up somehow, but she couldn’t move her legs anymore. </p><p>“Something came out of the desert. We can’t tell what it is.”</p><p>Era stretched her neck up as the sand reached her chin, but it was pointless. She would never stay up late to watch the stars with Enlil again, never chase balls and play freely as children on the outside did, never tell stories over meals, never see her mother again. She would never see Enlil again. Tears rolled down her cheeks once more.</p><p>There was shouting in the hall as the sand swallowed her and darkness overtook everything.</p><p> </p><p>“Sit down and eat, boy,” the woman, he had missed her name, said. “You need real food. You’re barely more than a stick.”</p><p>Enlil paused at the end of another lap of the small tent he and the other escapees had been assigned to sleep in. He glanced at her for a moment, sitting cross-legged by the doorway, a sword across her lap. He turned away and continued his pacing, kicking up sand as he went. </p><p>“At least sit down and rest,” she sighed as she rose from her place to follow him. “It’s getting a bit annoying, I can barely hear the sand over your stomping.” </p><p>“Hear it?” Enlil paused and looked over his shoulder. </p><p>“Yes,” she said, stooping to scoop up a handful of sand. “In Silair the Night Winds scream and drown out the song, but out here you can hear the sand singing to the stars.”</p><p>As the grains spilled from her fingers, Enlil thought he could almost hear music. </p><p>“The Night Song. It’s hard to hear it for the first few years after you Awaken, but it’s there.”<br/>
She opened her hand and let the rest of the sand fall with a grin. “It sings during the day too, but I like the Night Song better.”</p><p>Enlil opened his mouth to reply, but he was interrupted by the sand surging up behind him.<br/>
The woman laid a hand on his shoulder to hold him back as the Stranger surfaced, a bundle of rags in his arms. </p><p>“Did you get her?” Enlil bounced anxiously on his toes.</p><p>The Stranger nodded as he knelt down in front of them and gently set her on the ground. </p><p>Enlil tried to kneel at her side, but the woman held him back.</p><p>“Give her some space.” She crouched beside Era and brushed the hair out of her face. “She isn’t breathing.”</p><p>“They tried to test her. There must be sand in her lungs.” The Stranger winced and clutched at an open wound on his arm. “She only stopped breathing maybe a minute ago, and I didn’t want to hurt her. You’re better at this than I am.”</p><p>“They tested a child this young? Bastards!” The woman growled as she held a palm over Era’s face. </p><p>The Stranger grunted his agreement as he watched. </p><p>Sand slowly siphoned from Era’s mouth and into the waiting palm. She used the other hand to tease the sand into a string and guide it to the ground. She repeated the process over and over, as if she were gently pulling a thread from the girl’s lungs. When there was a large pile of sand between them, she took something from her pocket and placed it in Era’s mouth. It made a loud hissing noise as it pumped air into her lungs. Enlil waited with bated breath as her chest rose and fell. At last, she coughed and made a strangled noise as if she were trying to speak. The woman quickly pulled the device from Era’s mouth and helped her sit up. She held her up as her body rid itself of the last of the sand and held a waterskin to her lips. </p><p>“Don’t try to speak,” she said when Era let out a raspy sound. “Your throat is rough.” </p><p>The woman shifted back and gestured for Enlil to come closer. He rushed forward and dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around his sister.</p><p>“Era, you’re okay,” he said as she curled up and sniffled in his embrace. </p><p>“She must be tired. You should both rest,” the Stranger said. “There’s a caravan that will take you away from here so you can settle somewhere safer. It leaves tomorrow.”</p><p>Enlil looked up at the Stranger. He was covered in cuts, bruises, and gashes. For the first time, Enlil realized that he looked nothing like the people he had seen before. He had sand-colored hair and bright green eyes, and something about his face looked different, though Enlil couldn’t place it. He had never noticed before, but the Stranger had always worn a hood until now. </p><p>“Who are you?” He asked.</p><p>The Stranger smiled at him. “My name is Keone. I came from the West.” </p><p>The woman sat down again with a small bag from the tent and began binding Keone’s wounds. </p><p>“You sound like you think you’re some kind of hero,” she snorted. </p><p>“Aren’t I?” He rolled his eyes, but the grin didn’t fall from his face. “You two should get to bed, now. You’ll need your strength,”</p><p>The woman nodded. “You can’t stay here. You’re not Crawlers anymore, you’re Sandwalkers.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! If you liked it, feel free to leave kudos and/or a comment. I'll get back to Into The Otherworld soon, I swear! Also, I may continue this if a lot of people like it, so let me know if you want to see more of Enlil and Era's journey to safety, and maybe a little of Keone, too.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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